Rhea and Phoebe - SD Card Reader for the Sega Saturn / MY LIFE IN GAMING

[@nitrax8629]

A neat trick for telling which you need if you have a model 1: Open the disc cover and look through the hole where the right hinge is. If you see a white ribbon cable going across, you'll need a Rhea. If you don't see one, you'll need a Phoebe.

[@lawnboyfreak]

Good to see solid state for disc based systems starting to emerge and work well. I might have to pick up a Saturn now!

[@legalfreedom]

4:20 - Image format 5:28 - SD Card Maker 5:57 - Menu

[@thomaspleacher2735]

This video makes me excited for Professor Abrasive's upcoming SD card adapter for Sega Saturn.

[@WH250398]

Thomas Pleacher Are you a replican?

[@thomaspleacher2735]

I get beaten within an inch of my life every time I run into an escaped replicant, so if I am one, I somehow got stuck with all the disadvantages and none of the benefits. :-\

[@Gorilla_Jones]

You'll be waiting forever.

[@RallyLancer95]

@@Gorilla_Jones It's in beta now

[@Mykil84]

Awesome, I'd been hoping these would get spotlighted by you guys eventually. I happen to have a Model 1 that's functional but the CD drive no longer works that a Rhea would be perfect for. Thanks again for always showcasing these mods.

[@InvictvsNox]

This channel provides such invaluable information in such a palatable way. I'm so stoked to buy a Saturn now!

[@shivasthong4924]

I played through the entire Shining Force III trilogy flawlessly. This thing rocks.

[@fplgregfrost]

Been waiting since September 1998 to do that!

[@blizzzilla]

I didn't realize that these ODEs were so easy to install. Now if only they were as easy to buy... But until my disc drive fails I'll just stick with discs. The noise is kinda nostalgic.

[@BCProgramming]

4:21 Plugs in an SD Card USB adapter into a USB port about an inch away from an Actual SD Card Slot.

[@sunnyforest3239]

that sd card slot only supports sd cards up to 4gb..

[@Formedras]

@@sunnyforest3239 If you said "2GB" I might be willing to humor you. But no. The original Secure Digital Card spec supported up to 1GB, but could manage 2GB cards fine, albeit slightly off-spec. Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) officially starts at 2GB and goes up to 32GB, but could theoretically handle up to 2TB... which is what Secure Digital eXtended Capacity (SDXC) goes up to, while adding support for additional speed standards. So any reader that takes 4GB cards can easily take 32GB cards, and may or may not be capable of larger.

[@pwnswoggle]

I like how you're doing tutorials on how to install them like they're easy to buy... Great vid as always though.

[@TheProgressiveStyle]

after 2 years of this video i could finally buy one, man it was a long search.

[@MrSadface]

If you're ordering a Phoebe, if you take apart your Saturn before ordering, you can match your consoles CD drive to one of the types of model 2 Saturns (types 2, 3, and 4) and Deunon will do the soldering for you! In the rare event that you have a CD drive that doesn't match a console description, you can send him a picture and he'll help confirm which type of model 2 you have (e.g. the site says all type 4s have white borders on the PCBs, but mine does despite having a type 3 CD drive).

[@duncanrathband5492]

Your content is absolutely brimming with quality and attention to detail. Thank you MLIG!

[@iheartdonut]

Soooo happy to see more love for the Saturn. The spooky season has had me popping in D and Necronomicon. I've been using the flashed cart mod, cause many of my games are damaged and have disc rot :( The Phoebe and Rhea need a "disc-noise" emulation internal speaker!

[@Michirin9801]

Yeah well... I think it's gonna be more worth it to wait for Professor Abrasive's Mpeg card slot SSD solution...

[@startedtech]

Michirin9801 Yeah, having to remove the optical drive doesn't seem worth it

[@Waifu4Life]

If this is anything like the Serial port to SD card solution for Dreamcast, Int/Ext HDD for PS2 or PSIO for PS1, then compatibility is gonna be hit or miss. NOTHING can replace an ODE's 99% compatibility.

[@TacticalPower88]

Sam T If the optical drive is broken to begin with tho...

[@jotakux7489]

theimporter sorry for the noobness but what’s an ode. I’ve think I’ve heard the term before for ps3 hacking but it sounds more like a product.

[@Waifu4Life]

@Jotaku X 1:05

[@thebasketballhistorian3291]

I don't know much about the Saturn library (though I bought one used with a couple of games), but it seems like it had a lot of awesome 2D games.

[@ericbazinga]

7:05- Switch cameo in the bottom left corner under the TV 😎 Nice to see you got one of those! I look forward to some videos on it!

[@VinchVolt]

*+Farglior* You must be the guy at parties who makes "bing bong wahoo" jokes that nobody laughs at.

[@ericbazinga]

Farglior How is it crap?

[@ChronoSonic]

I've considered getting a Phoebe, but that little bit of soldering is what held me back since I've never tried it. Great video! Good luck on getting a GDemu for the Dreamcast, I managed to grab a USB-GDROM controller when Stone Age Gamer was still able to offer them.

[@MrSadface]

ChronoSonic open up your Saturn and see which CD drive is inside your Saturn. There are three types of model 2 Saturns and if you select the right one if you can get an order in he'll do the soldering for you.

[@DieHardjagged]

Well but for everyone outside America this will be tricky.. but luckily i know someone in Germany who should be able to solder this onto my failing Saturn Multiregion Unit.

[@DamnDealDone]

They install with flex cables. No soldering required.

[@ChronoSonic]

At 2:44 and 3:27, it's stated that the Phoebe requires soldering at certain points which depend on the console revision owned. The Rhea does not require soldering.

[@thomu8372]

To clarify about the soldering, This is only needed if you want to change the video mode through the device or if you've bought a phoebe for a different type of saturn model revision. Rhea is for early model 1 consoles wich is refered to as type 1. Phoebe has 3 types. Type 2 is for later model 1 consoles and early model 2 consoles and type 3 and type 4 for later model 2 consoles. If you buy a phoebe type 4 while your sega saturn is type 2 you'll have to adjust 1 or 2 jumpers by soldering and or desoldering those. Also you can tell if a model 1 is for rhea or phoebe type 2 by the hole for the power supply socket. If the hole is bigger than the power supply socket and t shaped then it's an early model 1. if the hole is the same size as the power supply socket then it's a later model 1.

[@videogameobsession]

5:06 Also, if you want to save time (and a blank disc!) instead of burning the Bin/Cue to a disc, just use the free program called Daemon Tools Lite to mount the Bin/Cue. DiscJuggler will simply see this as a disc in a virtual drive, now you can just rip it as a .cdi image.

[@Cer000s]

Discjuggler isnt working for me anymore. It just crashes and shuts itself down :(

[@EposVox]

This is really neat, though I'm not sure I'd do it unless I had two Saturns. Definitely will wait and see what that MPEG slot exploit turns up.

[@fplgregfrost]

Did you get one man? I've got a strong urge to play Dragon Force and Shining Force 3 Scenario 2+3 & Premium Disk! The Terraonion MODE looks kinda cool, as well as the Polymega!

[@RobbyHuang]

OHHHHHH SHIT SON! Every time a new Mlig comes out, it's a great, GREAT day!

[@noside.foxhound]

Man this is awsome! we can preserve games like this forever to play them in the original console.

[@noside.foxhound]

Well yeah as long as the console lasts of course.

[@jasonvoor480]

If your lucky to have a fully working Saturn best boxing it up it’s gonna be worth a lot off cash I hoping my GameCube gets me retirement sorted lol

[@RetroGamerBB]

Yay!!! You guys want to cover the ones for 3do and the rgb mod for 3do :-) The fz1usb is plug and play, the one for fz10 is the hard one.

[@pigboykool]

This is my dream come true. I have been worrying about my 8 collection of Sega Saturn CD-rom may die some day. Now with this SD card reader, it is like my Sega Saturn collection can live forever even after my physical body dies..... live on Saturn!

[@RanyBx]

Fantastic video. I own both the Gdemu and Rhea for my systems and I've had 0 issues so far. Everything works flawlessly. The Gdemu actually has much faster load times, sometimes no loading at all.

[@dsgitlin]

This is simply incredible. I'll never, ever do this, but I'm so impressed that others do.

[@ivalterbaptista2305]

Got one of these 1 year ago along with a GDMU for the Dreamcast. Never looked back. Great product.

[@EEVOL]

I love all the sound effects in all of your videos!

[@BrilliantBenGaming]

Drooling over all these Saturn games I never got to play as a kid!

[@Operator0G]

The downside of the GDEMU guy's ordering system is the timing if you're in the US. 5am to most of us is like 1pm to him, which is from what i've seen is when he opens preorders. I got lucky and managed to get a preorder from his most recent batch of rhea's through staying up like crazy lol.

[@cybernitemusic]

Operator0G it shouldn’t be this way... they should be available everywhere like Stone Age gamer but aren’t and won’t be. The guy has a completely chaotic system and it works against him

[@und4287]

US West Coast used to have special sales dedicated for them, IDK if they are still done.

[@Red5.]

After watching this, I know what my next project is. Thanks Coury and Try, keep up the good work!

[@Screwy]

2:34 I love the Silhouette Mirage SFX. Nice touch.

[@hansweiss469]

Isn't that sound effect from Castlevania bloodlines?

[@rangerlunis1016]

Nice, but something about loading a disc up in a system i'll miss. Guess this is just a eventuality

[@dend1853]

I miss the fact that on the new systems we pretty much cant even just play a game without the internet or have to almost download the whole game just to play it.I Just bought an Xbox one X and I didnt take it out of the box and try it for like 2weeks but I got a hold of a Saga saturn and some game and popped in Die Hard and just reminded me of the early days when I actually played video games starting from sega genesis and my Turboduo that I still have today.Never played my saturn much and i didnt care for it much probably cause of my Turboduo being so kick ass Cause of all of them shooter shmucs but realized the sega also have some awesome Japanese shooters I didnt know that until rec.I still have my saturn but I noticed one at a thrift store and bought it for pretty cheap and with die hard inside the console it also had a gameshark in it to then later I found Rayman, Clockwork knight 2 and mr bones and a few others.A couple days before that I purchased an xbox one x and didnt open my new xbox one x for like 2 weeks but when I bought the sega saturn I started playing die hard right off the bat yet I love the collecting of the vintage games but for playing them its just not the same for me but hell for my cell phone I just wish I could just put it down most of the time cause the cell phone is more addicting than any of those game consoles.oh and for changing out a little memory card from the cd rom dvd based games is a bit of a of a bummer

[@TobiEstosWorld]

verry nice to see, people still working on such old consoles. i hope there will be a easeyer to use version of PSIO for the PS1 without soldering and destroying lanes on the mobo :)

[@GameplayandTalk]

Nice to see some more Saturn coverage. I still need to pick up one of these for myself but they are sold out whenever I check (same goes with the GDEMU). I am also looking forward to Professor Abrasive's external mod as well. Development seems to be paused at the moment but up until then he was shown on Patreon to be making some nice headway with it.

[@MilkWasABadChoice17]

This product has everything but the one thing that is vital for any product: accessibility. I understand it's one guy doing all this, but at this point the designs could be handed off to another company and he could make a lot of money without doing anything.

[@BobbyxZx]

i've been interested in these for a couple years now... great episode and thanks for the coverage! now i just have to win the timing lottery and find my place in line. :)

[@0.Kenshin]

@10:16 Games like D2 that don't ask you to save before a disc swap automatically do it without any user interaction, so that button isn't needed at all.

[@rodrigomolinsky]

3:22 Actually, there is a way to know by the serial number. I know the 2nd number of the serial is the year of the board (in the example, the "5" means is was a 1995 board). But I don't if the 1st or the 3rd is the board revision or the manufacter. Because rhea works on the VA0, so I believe it is the 3rd number since the model at the 3:22 doesn't have the VA0 board for sure. edit: Ok, my bad, the console at 3:22 is the 1st model (I thought it was the 2nd model), so I still don't know which number of the serial is the board revision.

[@Stranded360]

A reason to buy a saturn IMO.....because I rarely find saturn games in the wild.

[@CommodoreFan64]

Same I've seen PS1, PS2, and PS3 games out in the wild more then anything else but I never see Saturn games in my area, hell I've even come across lose Atari Lynx games at my local Goodwill before, and even a complete Dreamcast and Dremcast keyboard in their original boxes with all the manuals, and packaging, but again never a single SEGA Saturn Game, controller, or system. So yeah this does give me a good reason to buy a Saturn, and Action replay to finally play a lot of the games I've missed out on over the years.

[@Stranded360]

I've seen a few generics at goodwill in seattle, and some more generics in a thrift store in montana....that is it . I never had a saturn that I can recall....so it is very much a mysterious machine other than being a failed console that I look forward to playing and enjoying it for the first time near sega's glory years.

[@paleocat6354]

I find Sega Saturn ones in Nebraska

[@KWKBOX]

Wow a new Game Sack and My Life in Gaming video on my birthday. I feel special.

[@swytchblayd]

So glad there are newer, higher-run versions available now :) The ebay prices for these are absolutely nuts, and the maker hasn't been selling them to certain places (including the USA) since the whole virus started. Now we have the Fenrir (cheaper, early mo.1 Saturn consoles only, high but not perfect compatability) and the MODE (more expensive, works on all Saturn AND Dreamcast consoles, supposedly perfect compatability) and can run just about any major image files. No more burning in weird formats and overpriced, rare ODE scouring on ebay, etc.

[@TheGorillafoot]

i don't even own a Saturn and I want this! Would be great for people that don't collect and only want to play "backups" and get the pretty close to full experience without the crazy cost of games.

[@stabinghobo57]

I will wait for the mod less solution for the Saturn, but yes this is a big concern, for us original hardware purest. I had to take apart my GameCube the other day because of it over heating. Keeping this aging technology working will be a continuous challenge for all of us. Thank you for the info you're videos are fantastic!

[@DieHardjagged]

Well the only solution that doesnt fuck with the Hardware would be to get a Pseudo Saturn Kai.

[@Deneteus]

Pro-Tip: If you use an SDCARD with WiFi like the Eye-Fi, or Toshiba Flash-Air, or Transcend, or EZ Share then you don't have to keep putting the SD card in your computer to get games on it. You can do it completely wirelessly from your network. This will work with any unit that uses a full sized SDCARD. I use one on my Canon cameras to upload pics to the Internet.

[@SolidSonicTH]

Laser failure is the one that most concerns me. My disc media seems as reliable as ever but lasers going dead is a considerable concern.

[@wrightguyz]

Still running a Rhea - finally broke out my Saturn for some TATE shooting action, (having recently acquired a 2030 PVM). I wondered if the "MODE" blew this out of the water...still - coming back here to confirm the rip process...great to have this documented and clearly (you're doing the Lord's work) - Frustrating that I have to re-burn existing images in order to rip them proper from Disc juggler - but it does work. Would be nice if Discjuggler worked from img files...one could dream. Hey I found some old CD-Rs in storage...from like 20 years ago - still work...haha, even my 10 year + BD burner (even though I have to manually pull the tray out). Hey if it gets me playing DonPachi tonight, I'm happy. Thanks again!

[@kyo3714]

Oh god I missed these videos so much!! Love you guys and your videos :D

[@viewtifuljoe99]

I got a gdemu a month ago and it was a huge game changer. Really want to get one of these for my Saturn, looks very similar to the gdemu

[@hanzobi1926]

Darkwater, Tosec is what you want. Zero issues with those

[@PabstOban]

I just got my Rhea up and running. Man, this is the coolest thing! I want an ODE for all my disk based gaming systems... I hope they do Turbo Duo and PS2 Slimline.

[@conrad5342]

ODEs are awesome. There are also solutions for the Gamecube. Do they still have some direct audio issues? Probably not so many people are still talking about it as a Wii can be soft modded and is backwards compatible. However you cannot use the Gameboy player via a Wii.

[@velbyYT]

I use my Wii to play GameCube games via Nintendont and it works great. I also think you can connect a hard drive to it so you can store a whole bunch of GC games. The sad part though is that the Wii have a worse component quality than GameCube, although it can fixed if you perform the Wii Dual mod.

[@KenjiUmino]

would be cool to replace my dead saturn drive with one of these ... would be ... but it does cost twice as much as a used saturn - wich is already expensive. but it is the only option we have because that mpeg card slot thing you mentioned isn't even going anywhere - seen one video about it and NEVER heard from it again. ever.

[@pixelsrnautded9286]

It's out now and it ended up being a good product.

[@Edexote]

Well, my Saturn's laser is almost dead and although I did purchased a new laser, I haven't installed it yet. I will be keeping a very close eye to Phoebe...

[@fretboarder4752]

getting my gdemu tomorrow cant wait!!!

[@stes9949]

ODE's have comes such long way since this video. For the Sega Saturn we now have: Rhea/Phoebe (unobtainium), Fenrir/Fenrir Duo, MODE, Satiator, Saroo. Playstation: PSIO, XStation, MODE. Dreamcast: GDEMU (unobtainium) & Clones, MODE. 3DO: Xport, FZ-1 ODE from Fixel, Menmo, Raspberry Pi clones China. Gamecube: GC Loader. Neo Geo CD: SD Loader. Sega CD: MegaSD, Mega EverDrive Pro. TG-16/PCEngine: Turbo Everdrive Pro, Super HD System 3 Pro.

[@Nukle0n]

Deunan Knute is the protag of Shirow Masamune's Appleseed also :D

[@morienbendinelli1554]

1:02 yeah 👍🏽 I see someone else likes the Appleseed anime.😊😁

[@wojiaobill]

normally i dont like things like this since i would prefer ALL of the original hardware, but given that the Saturn drives would probably be more and more difficult to repair/replace, and since the Saturn cant be emulated (AFAIK?), i think it's a good idea...

[@earlynovfan]

Great Video! Thanks for the information, I've been really looking forward to Saturn modding for the past few years. :)

[@ChibiFighter]

Please do more videos about console mods like this, this is amazing

[@mjs0686]

Why not just wait for the Satiator?

[@mjs0686]

It's only on pause. He hasn't "given up".

[@MrSadface]

He's moving right now. Since he started his Patreon he's been making far more progress. Before that he almost gave up because of his new baby.

[@cybernitemusic]

If having a baby almost makes him give up, I’d say don’t even support the Patreon. Many people who have babies still do lots of stuff

[@darksoulsong]

@@cybernitemusic do lots of stuff and forgot about their babies on the process. Maybe this is a price he's not willing to pay.

[@seymoronion8371]

Family first

[@cdoublejj]

never REALLY wanted a saturn until now. some cool looking games

[@vectorbeam]

Yay, new episode! Great work you guys.

[@jefersonrodrigues6983]

very cool! is it possible to do the same work for a Sega CDX or Sega CD or PlayStation 1 ??? it would be so good!!

[@Disthron]

Considering that, one, this is a device where you are running the games on original hardware, and two, when emulating a CD you don't have to worry about extra hardware that might be included on a cart like an FX chip or some obscure mapper. I would expect nothing less than full compatibility.

[@Sonicdude10]

I want to tell a little story to you people who care enough to read it about why this is happening. I know what you're thinking. "Who is this guy? You're a nobody." Yeah, yeah. I know. I am a nobody. I did not create any of these. I did not design or engineer them. However I do have a major part in them. I was the jump starter. Now you may be still wondering how I have any connection to this at all. How I jump started these ODE systems. The answer is simple. Many were working on these solutions long before I arrived on the scene. All I did was drum up interest by asking the right questions in the right places. I brought the people together. I brought those who would buy these solutions to the engineers and hackers who were working on them. Some were pretty much being ignored or on the so called "back burner" before I showed up and brought everyone together. Remember a few years back how out of nowhere there was a sudden surge interest in making an ODE for the Sega Dreamcast? I did that. I drummed up the interest. People who were working on it figured there would not be enough interest to make it worthwhile. Look now. Not only do we have GDEMU but also the PS1 ODE and now for the Saturn. I was basically the whisper in the ears of those working on these projects that helped push them to be complete. I stayed in the shadows and silently informed the right ones while also passing news of development around. Would these have been created even without my hand? Perhaps. However, some may not have been or taken many years longer to crack and design. This is my story of how I helped push the idea of preserving these older optical disk based systems that do not have the capability for digital media storage built in by default. This is my story of how I helped ODE for these older systems become mainstream.

[@firebones8206]

I've been doing the same thing trying to get people making a Sega CD ode. Even as far as trying to figure out how to do it myself. Please work your magic on that one if you would. Thanks in advance!

[@Ome_cent___]

For image conversions: use imgburn & daemon tools! Mount the image to convert in virtual drive, select that drive in image burn, to create iso from the virtusl drive... I use this method to pack ps1 images with multiple audio files to one iso

[@TheMagpyeTrader]

The PCB and layout for these don't look terribly complicated. I have no idea why the guy who makes these doesn't outsource the manufacture of these boards, he'd be able to charge less and actually have them in stock for once.

[@KevinTwiner]

Awesomeness... looking forward to seeing more of these . Thank y’all

[@hyzenthlay7151]

Seeing as I live in such a humid environment I've been adding a small silica gel bag in each of my CD game cases (I paid like $2 for 100 baggies of the stuff), and it helps to eliminate the humidity factor of discrot, and I practically live in the dark too, so no light issues. If it happens, it happens, but I've done things to help prevent some factors. As far as the hardware is concerned, it is a shame to have to remove a piece to replace it with this, kind of removes the "original" aspect of the console, but if you got a second console for this mod it would be great. One question I do have is about the game save states... are they still limited to the tiny onboard memory and the cartridge? Or can you now also save games to the SD card too? Great video guys!!

[@SeanHowell]

Disc Change Adrenaline Rush. I haven't thought of that in decades!

[@LetsPlayKeldeo]

I freaking love your videos :) This makes my week again and again

[@MrRom92DAW]

I have no doubts the performance of using this with rips of the original disc are fine. My only issue is that games with redbook audio are notoriously hard to rip properly, and it’s very easy and even common for errors to become introduced in the ripping process. I don’t deal with Sega Saturn too much, but dealing with Sega CD rips... I can tell you I’ve resorted to just buying the discs myself and ripping them even though it’s so easy to just download and burn them. And cheaper. Out of all the game rips I’ve found online, none have been reliably tested as accurate against an original. Even just for the audio tracks. If you’re a stickler for quality then maybe this is something best left to the games that didn’t use redbook audio.

[@veturis3111]

Uh a new My life in gaming vid... gotta grab my popcorn and sit down

[@johndee759]

Oh no. It's gonna be even harder to get these now. Thank you my life in gaming.

[@shivasthong4924]

Kind of glad I got mine back in January

[@johndee759]

Shivas Thong Yeah. What to do we need to spread the love. I am sure KZbin is one of the reasons for increasing the prices for PVM/BVMs, specialty multicards, scalers, video games, scart switches,... Please leave some things in the forums or it'll bite you back. It's not only that the prices of professional monitors have gone up, they are not even readily available anymore. Still I enjoy My life in Gaming, and all the other shows. In think also game sack had mentioned before that once they post a video about a certain game the price will increase real soon. That's the power these KZbinrs have.

[@johndee759]

oldgames guy Of course not. I am glad that there a so many people enjoying this retro video game hobby. It is getting more and more expensive to collect for. It's not only the price that goes up but also the supply goes drastically down. Yes, you can wait and in the end these are just things. You might have some emotional attachments but you won't be able to take them with you when you are dead. All that matters is family and friends whom were able to make connections with. Memories are what is important. Materialistic things make you an inhuman being. I think all of us are in some way. We want all these things but at no cost. Anyway, the only thing I can say is that I did my research I am in forums and I read and communicate with the people like you in our community. I have visited some game rooms of various legends in the community and have seen their collections. Go out there and meet and make some friends.

[@johndee759]

oldgames guy it is what is. I am appreciative of my life in gaming. These games are just things. I am glad for the friendships I have established.

[@DamnDealDone]

Yes but they need new content for their eBegging channel. So nothing will be obtainable soon enough. This only exacerbates once it's done the KZbin rounds and everyone has a video on a certain thing. +oldgamesguy Yes actually, those who put in the work on the forums deserve to be in the know more than those who don't, why shouldn't that be true? The guy that builds these pretty much hates stupid emails, think of what's gonna come his way after this video and every dingus wants one. I don't envy his inbox. Price increase of old games is a direct result on KZbin.

[@Futuredynamo]

I'm very interested in getting one of these. Early last year I went to use my original Saturn that I got for Christmas in 1995 for the first time in probably a year or two, and discovered that the optical drive stopped reading discs. I kind of freaked out, and ended up buying three replacement/back up units (another US model 1, a US Model 2, and a Japan Model 1), all of which work as of now. I've been tentatively planning to try and get my original one repaired as well, but I may just go this route with it since the optical drive seems to be "toast" anyway.

[@micronian]

This is perfect, I have a Saturn with a non working cd drive. I can use this on it.

[@cybernitemusic]

RGS good luck with ever ordering one...

[@trev1976]

Looking forward to the clones, can't be arsed with people charging ridiculous prices on eBay

[@exiletomars]

There are archival quality optical discs(archival CDs, archival DVDs, etc), which I think companies should just use full stop for everything(games, music, etc), but if one used an action replay with backups of their games on archival disc media then you wouldn't have to worry about disc rot, although scratches can always be an issue. The issue though with an SD card reader is that you could have a chance that it would fail(although because there aren't moving parts this is reduced), and that NAND isn't to my knowledge as reliable as ROM chips from things like the NES-N64.

[@dmitriinikolaev917]

Well, I don't have saturn at home, but to listen the information about this upgrade was very interesting)

[@RocketLawnchair]

Cool idea and thanks for sharing. I'm a huge Sega Saturn fan so this is awesome!

[@kenmys]

I've looked into these but they are nearly impossible to get ahold of. I just don't understand why the creator of these SD card readers doesn't make larger batches. There is clearly demand.

[@lee3r24]

Yeah it doesn't make much sense at all tbh, the last batch I saw sold out almost instantly and then days later was being scalped on ebay with massive markups

[@daver1883]

Big demand and he makes them all on his own. He has several different products he offers and can only make so many with the available components. He also has a normal job and a life, so you can't really expect that he'll be able to make hundreds of them easily or in a short time. Keep an eye on his site. I'd say check it every friday, as he usually announces preorders being open for saturday when he does that.

[@EZshocks]

Dave R best way I found is to make an account on Wordpress and then set notifications to send you an email whenever he makes a new post. I never miss them now.

[@rockhyde7775]

It functions like a flash card (I’d rather retain the disc drive and have a cartridge that has a SD slot which would require a modchip to allow the flash card to work and be able to play discs at the same time) but this mod looks awfully risky. Even if the laser or whatever spins the disc is no longer functioning, it’s definitely possible to fix the disc reader and have it working like new. This option is for those who want to play right away (same for Dreamcast) by replacing their disc drive (either broke down or too lazy to fix it) with this. Any video game console disc reader can be fixed and I would go for that route so I can use burned games or whatever I have collected.

[@Vintiqueture]

This is risky in what way? I've been playing the gdemu no prob - clone at that.

[@LJGrindewald]

I rarely ever played sega as a kid though my cousin had a mega drive. Loved playing Aladdin. I think it's great this is being done. It's preserving what came before. Would have been a shame if all this wasn't possible. Must be nostalgia for those who grew up with it. Ps1 was my first console but my favourite old games are from the PS2. I'd love to play my old games in better quality.

[@BeerBellyDK]

I'm no stranger to modding consoles, and i can see this solution being an option if you've got a console that has a defective optical drive that can't be repaired og replaced. But i really think that if the console is functional, an effort should be made to preserve it in it's original state. I wonder if one could utilize the Saturns card slot, maybe in combination with a boot disc or something in stead. Same goes for the original PlayStation, utilizing its serial port. There's got to be a better way than straight up tearing apart the console..

[@BeerBellyDK]

That is exactly what it is. You are taking the console apart, and removing parts that are pretty essential for it to function as intended. That it can be reversed was not the issue.

[@BeerBellyDK]

That's your opinion. Not mine.

[@BeerBellyDK]

Yeah well, considering how many consoles are out there, i'd say that i'm probably not.

[@BeerBellyDK]

No, i am not contradicting myself. You are trying to twist my words to fit your idea of what is right. By removing the optical drive, you are preventing the consoles ability to read and play original games. That is, it will no longer "function as intended". It would require a rather significant procedure to undo that. By using a boot disc, you are not preventing the consoles ability to read and play original games. That is, it will still "function as intended". Now, since you can't seem to take a hint and let this be, i'll tell you outright. You're entitled to your opinion, and that is fine. I'm entitled to mine as well. We won't agree on this, so this conversation is going nowhere, and so, i will not be responding to any more arguments from you. You have a nice day.

[@jorgepalomares8025]

@Christian Tearing it apart is not the case here. That's what makes it better.

[@PabstOban]

I just ordered a Rhea's, I'm really excited to get it. If you have a US Saturn and have a Rhea installed, will you have any region challenges or 4 meg expansion cart issues while swapping regions? Like... Will you need an Action Replay to play Japanese CD Images? Like... will I be able to play the US Resident Evil 2, then play say... X-Men vs Street Fighter with the 4meg upgrade cart without any funny swapping?

[@loganjorgensen]

Oh I thought they were just big Cheers & Friends TV fans. ^_^ Can't say I've come across many optical problems other than sinking spindles probably from people treating CDs like carts. :P Mostly these kind of devices help with the rising cost of Saturn game ownership, it's pretty crazy especially cross-platform titles where you'll save lots of money getting the PS1 versions. And many of the exclusives yikes. O_O

[@marsiozo]

I dunno...I got some modchip in my Saturn I dont remember well...but it was a little chipboard and I had to connect it somehow to a little cable from the Saturn...dont recall any soldering since I dont have that gear....got an Action Replay 4 meg card so I can download and burn every Saturn game that is available on the net. I will trust that the disc reader from my Saturn will keep up enough years for me to play. Isnt there a way to mod the Saturn straight through the cartridge port using a cart. with an sd slot just like everdrives....

[@aydan1686]

This is very cool but the easier option is to just get an extra saturn or two, get an action replay flashed with pseudo saturn and just burn your games to CD's and play away. If it's the CD drive you're worrying about then there will always be other hardware faults that will come. A very interesting alternative for the future if all CD drives end up breaking haha :)

[@FurEngel]

Atmel SAM4S! 120MHz 32-bit MCU there :-) (note: I work with this processor almost everyday)

[@ericochoa4034]

Serial numbers do work so long as the innards haven't been messed with and the console has all original parts. Last six digits are the serial number the next number is the revision or if its a letter then it would be a=10 b=11 and so on the next number to that is the year it was manufactured and the first one or two character are the manufacture code. Its worked for me so far without looking inside the console so long as it is all original has hasn't been messed with.

[@PrestonJohnson-eia]

I just bought a Sega Saturn and it just so happened to have that exact SD reader installed. I had no idea that was a thing! Long story short though I started playing Shining Force 3 and after about an hour my game froze and said "CD READ ERROR!" something something check lens. Why would that occur and how do I fix it? Any help would be greatly appreciated. TIA!

[@GodliBits]

Heard you can play Saturn games on the Nintendo Switch! Hope an emulator will be available in the future! Would be awesome to play VF 1+2 and Sega Rally on the handheld and would be great if the motion controllers can work with Virtua Cop on the tv screen, since the gun games don't work on new tv's with the gun peripherals.

[@Kos4Evr]

This is so awesome. Maybe someone will take the symphony of the night and actually finish it so that it plays like it does on the PlayStation.

[@asherael]

good luck getting the guy that makes them to sell you one.... I usually avidly back the people who do the design and develop these things, but genuinely hope for a clone here.... I'd even donate to the guy if they were just available and affordable, and I'm *sure* i'm not alone.....

[@SchokobomberLP]

there is also a flashcard for the playstation, the so called PSIO, you shuold try this out too, cause the playstation is way more prone to laser failure than the saturn in my opinion. It lets you also use your disks aswell, it operates of the parallel port ;D

[@henfjo]

Does Panzer Dragoon Saga work on this?

[@Trevurie]

Any episode for PSIO?

[@radbrowmk4813]

do you know if there is one SD card like Rhea and Hoebe to hook up on NEO GEO CD ?

[@simbin.]

Something to consider before buying the Rhea, Phoebe or GDEMU - they are VERY finicky with most SD cards over 32GB. Even if all your games seem fine and load to their menu screens, you could still have graphic glitches or random freezes further into the games. Newer cards can also become more unstable over time. I've had the best luck with older Class 4 cards. If you can wait a bit longer, Professor Abrasive could have his card out next year. For Dreamcast, there is also the USB-GDROM, although I've heard it can be difficult to get. Anyway, good to have options :)

[@kadrik0]

simbin Just check the compatibility on the forums. I’m using a lexar 128gb in my rhea and a 256gb lexar in my gdemu. I haven’t had a single issue and I have used both cards for over a year. Of course mileage will vary.

[@simbin.]

Consider yourself lucky. I didn't even know mine was having any issues at first. They're kind of tricky to diagnose with different symptoms. The last problematic card I had was a 64GB Lexar, it would just stop working after a month or two of inactivity. The files were perfectly readable and all checksums matched on PC. Rewriting the files would temporarily fix the problem until it happened again. Most cards I've tested would experience freezes right away or tiny glitches in video cutscenes, that are barely noticeable if you aren't looking for them. I think some of the cards on those lists are still flawed but have small glitches so they go unnoticed. The problem must be with the devices or firmware because every failed SD card I tested has worked flawlessly in other numerous flashcarts, etc. It's unfortunate as these devices are really good otherwise.

[@Waifu4Life]

Most people have a few small capacity spare cards card lying around. Best thing to do is find one that works, then buy a higher capacity model of that same brand and series. Also, I don't see how Professor Abrasive's solution will be any different with flash media compatibility. Only thing for sure is that like every external solutions, game compatibility will not be as good.

[@simbin.]

I'm no expert, but I'd bet a lot can be different, based on the quality of the SD controller, firmware integration and filesystem support. Here's some more info, straight from the horses mouth. I can confirm incompatibilities across all devices. gdemu.wordpress.com/details/